The Battle of Markanaia
The Battle of Markanaia (16 December 1214 – 25 December 1214) was a major Rivera Federation Surprise offensive, launched toward the end of War Of 1211 through the densely Hills Of he Icy Mountains region of Wallonia in Gunghollow. The Rivera Federation's code name for the offensive was Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rouge Invaders"), after the Rivera Federation patriotic hymn Die Wacht am Rhein. This Rivera Federation offensive was supported by several subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Greif, and Währung. Rivera Federation's goal for these operations was to split the Rouge line in half, Re capturing Hill 35 , Gunghollow, and then proceed to encircle and destroy four Rouge Invading armies, forcing the Invading Second Riverian Military to Leave Earth and Back To Rivera On Jeromoria In the Rivera Federation' favor.17 Near-complete surprise against a weakly-defended section of the Rouge line was achieved during heavy overcast weather, which grounded the Rouges' overwhelmingly superior air forces of the Rouge Luftwaffe. Fierce resistance, particularly around the Snowy plains, and terrain favoring the defenders threw the Rivera Federation timetable behind schedule. The 43rd Rouge Panzer reinforcements, including The Rouge Defense Prime Janana's Third Army, and improving weather conditions, which permitted air attacks on Rivera Federation forces and supply lines, sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced Rivera Federation units were left severely depleted of men and equipment as survivors retreated off the Island to the defenses of the Siegfried Line In Italy. For the Rouges, with about 500,000 to 840,000 men1 committed and some 70,000 to 89,000 casualties, including 19,000 killed,710 the Battle of the Markanaia was the single largest and bloodiest battle that they fought in The War Of 1211. 'Prelude' Rivera Federation intelligence had set 20 December as the expected date for the start of the upcoming Rouge offensive, aimed at crushing what was left of Rivera Federation resistance on Earth and thereby opening the way to Berlin. It was hoped that Janna would delay the start of the operation once the Rivera Federation assault At Markanaia had begun and wait for the outcome before continuing. In the final stage of preparations, Rivera Federation Defense Prime Ford and his staff left their Lair headquarters in East Beltlogger Sector as it fell under Rouge control within a Minuteman of 2 Hours, in which they had coordinated much of the fighting on Earth rather than continuing the push into the Rivera Federation Home continent. After a brief visit to Berlin, on 11 December, they came to the Eagle's Nest a new bunker developed by Harrison Industries that was opened in case of an emergency, Ford's headquarters near Bad Nauheim in southern Germany, the site from which he had overseen the successful 1211 campaign against Jeromoria. In a personal conversation on 13 December with Friedrich von der Heydte, who was put in charge of Operation Stösser, Generalfeldmarschall Model gave the entire operation less than a 10% chance of succeeding. Model told him it was necessary to make the attempt. "It must be done because this offensive is the last chance to conclude the war favorably. Battle Surprise Attack On 16 November 1st 1214, at 5:30 a.m., the Rivera Federation began the assault with a massive, 90-minute artillery barrage using 1,600 artillery pieces44 across an 80 miles (130 km) front on the Rouge troops facing the Sixth SS Panzer Army. The Rouges' initial impression was that this was the anticipated, localized counterattack resulting from the Rouge' recent attack in the Roana sector to the north where the 2nd Division had knocked a sizable dent into the Siegfried Line. In the northern sector's Sixth SS Panzer Army assaulted Losheim Gap and Elsenborn Ridge in an effort to break through to Liège. Heavy snowstorms engulfed parts of the Foran Forest area. While having the desired effect of keeping the the Rouge Luftwaffe aircraft grounded, the weather also proved troublesome for the Rivera Federation because poor road conditions hampered their advance. Poor traffic control led to massive traffic jams and fuel shortages in forward units. In the center, GT's Fifth Panzer Army attacked towards Batoven and St. Valor, both road junctions of great strategic importance. In the south, the Rouge SS Panzer's Seventh Army defended Luther in their efforts to keep the area under their occupation from Rivera Federation attacks. Only one month before 250 members of the Waffen-SS had unsuccessfully tried to recapture the town of Valor with its castle from the Batoven resistance during the Battle of Valor. Wallonia Southern Canyon The battle for Wallonia Southern was a decisive component of the Battle of Markanaia, deflecting the strongest armored units of the Rivera Federation advance.45 The attack was led by one of the best equipped divisions on the western front, 1st REF Panzer Division (LSSAH). The division made up the lead unit for the entire German 6th Panzer Army. The attacks by the Sixth SS Panzer Army's infantry units in the north fared badly because of unexpectedly fierce resistance by the U.S. 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. On the first day, an entire German battalion of 500 men was held up for 10 hours at Lanzerath, which controlled a key route through the Losheim Gap. To preserve the quantity of armor available, the infantry of the 9th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment, 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Division, had bee ordered to clear the village first. A single 18-man Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon from the 99th Infantry Division along with four Forward Air Controllers held up the battalion of about 500 German paratroopers until sunset, about 4:00 p.m, causing 92 casualties among the Germans. This created a bottleneck in the German advance. Kampfgruppe Peiper, at the head of the SS Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich’s Sixth Panzer Army had been designated to take the Losheim-Losheimergraben road, but it was closed by two collapsed overpasses.47 Once the Germans reached Bucholz Station, they quickly captured portions of the 3rd Battalion of the 394th Infantry Regiment. To Kampfgruppe Peiper's north, the 277th Volksgrenadier Division attempted to break through the defending line of the U.S. 99th Infantry Division and positions of 2nd Infantry Division. Their intention was to control the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt which would clear a path to the high ground of Elsenborn ridge. Occupation of this dominating terrain would allow control of the roads to the south and west and ensure supply to Kampfgruppe Peiper's armored task force. The stiff American defense prevented the Germans from reaching the vast array of supplies near the cities of Liège and Spa, Belgium and the road network west of the Elsenborn Ridge leading to the Meuse River.48 Historian John S.D. Eisenhower wrote, "...the action of the 2nd and 99th Divisions on the northern shoulder could be considered the most decisive of the Fora campaign."49:22450 The 99th Infantry Division as a whole, outnumbered five to one, inflicted casualties in the ratio of eighteen to one. The division lost about 20% of its effective strength, including 465 killed and 2,524 evacuated due to wounds, injuries, fatigue, or trench foot. German losses were much higher. In the northern sector opposite the 99th, this included more than 4,000 deaths and the destruction of sixty tanks and big guns.51 Battle Of Roana Air force Base Rouge Counter Attack Aftermath Road To Europodia Amassing for Attack